Suburban sprawl is polluting our planet—and our population. As if we needed further evidence that sprawl is something to be stopped, numerous reports have recently been published on the skyrocketing rate of childhood obesity. One of the major culprits? Cars, of course.

An article in the Green Guide tells the story of an eight-year-old girl, Jessica, who came home after a summer visit to grandma, and was so overweight, her mother scarcely recognized her. It wasn’t just the blueberry pie and lazy summer days that had made little Jessica morph into a big girl. It was inactivity, and sitting shotgun in granny’s car.

The child’s mother, Robin Pelleteir told the Green Guide that sprawl is largely to blame for girl’s weight gain:

She blames not only ice cream but also her sprawled-out hometown, lacking an interesting, pedestrian-friendly center with places a child could walk to and explore. The long distances between homes and stores, Pelletier remembers, "fostered a culture of inactivity." By the end of high school, Pelletier, at 5' 5", weighed in at 170 pounds; she hit 200 before she was 20. That's partly why, before college, she moved across the country to San Diego, a city that embraced physical fitness; she began walking and biking everywhere. The day her daughter returned from Grandma's, 12 years ago, Pelletier put her back on a daily diet of nutritious food—that, with bicycling, got Jessica back in shape.

Acccording to Thomas Schmid, Ph.D, coordinator of the Active Community Environments (ACES) working group at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Kids are getting fatter and fatter because they're being driven more and more and walking less and less.” Schmid noted studies by the U.S. Department of Transportation which found that the number of non-motorized trips kids take to school has declined by 40 percent over the last twenty years, and that the average number of pedestrian commuting trips Americans take per year has dropped by over 40 percent. (What happened to trudging nine miles in the snow, to and from?) Meanwhile, we’ve increased the number of car trips we make by 250 percent.

The Green Guide blames post-WWII planning for starting urban sprawl:

…A post-World War II building boom, driven by a surge in car ownership and housing for returning GIs, and spurred by government subsidies for road construction, home loans and gasoline consumption, has persisted until today. The result has been "sprawl": a pattern of spread-out development without a central core, dependent on car travel. "Sidewalks are often missing. Roadways are designed for vehicular 'throughput' and make foot or bike traffic downright dangerous," writes Neal Peirce, a Washington Post columnist.

A 2007 study by the University of Michigan found that our perception of childhood obesity is changing, too. Parents reported that their children, who were clinically obese, were “about the right weight.” Au contraire.

From the New York Times:

The numbers, alas, told another story. The parents were also asked to provide information about the children’s height and weight — and many of the 6-to-11- year-olds turned out to be obese. Yet more than 40 percent of their parents appeared unaware of this.

… Dr. Matthew M. Davis, a pediatrician and internist who directed the poll, said he and other doctors wondered why parents who brought overweight children in for appointments so often did not seem concerned.

But, Dr. Davis said, “If they don’t actually perceive their children to have excess weight, then how can we realistically expect them to make changes?”

Even as we get fatter and grow more reliant on our cars to get us from fast food restaurants to our sedentary jobs, we continue to miss the connection. Will we smarten up and realize that driving to Denny’s is bad for us, or will it, as Davis’s study shows, become something ordinary?

Photos via flickr by impactmatt & ben_templesmith.

Comments (4)

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Mark R. said:

While I agree that people don't exercise enough and are to fat, to blame it on urban sprawl is ridiculous. Blame it on the fear of of abduction, molestation or other social ills, video games, grandparents spoiling kids etc before urban sprawl. I grew up in a small town in the country, walked or rode my bike every where. Parents don't let there kids do that today not because they don't want to but because they fear what might happen. And to say that bring everything closer in a downtown city environment will solve the problem is just foolish.

February 20, 2008

Daniel said:

Mark, no offense, but I have to call "BS" on that statement. People don't walk/bike because they are lazy. To say that you aren't going to walk 1/4 mile to the store because you don't want to be raped is just an excuse to drive. It is very rare that people are in such an isolated place that this is even a threat, and I don't believe most kids live their lives in fear like adults do. I think the author is correct in stating that if you had an "interesting, pedestrian-friendly center with places a child could walk to and explore", they WOULD. Unfortunately you don't have that. Around where I live I see kids walking by at all hours of the day. The only problem is they're all walking to 7-11 for sodas and ice cream. They certainly aren't scared of being molested (they get that at home).

February 20, 2008

Mark R. said:

Daniel, Re Read the article I'm not talking about me or you I'm talking about CHILDREN! I know way to many moms that won't hardly let their kids out of their sight because of this fear of their child being abducted on their watch. You don't know squat about where I live, I do live in a pedestrian friendly town its 40k pop. with over 25 miles of hike and bike trails and Thousands of acres of parks on top of the regular sidewalks and bike lanes. Which is great for such a small town/suburb. Sure the kids love to explore the trails and parks, when their parents let them. Let me give you a for instance, We had to stop letting our kids go with out an adult to the park 3 blocks from our house for several months because there were several spotting of a convicted child abuser hanging around the park. When you have cops come to your door and show a picture of a convicted child abuser and asking if you've seen him in at your park you pay attention. I'm just giving my opinion on why a lot of kids are FAT. and its not because of urban sprawl, thats a HUGE COPOUT! its because of fast food, video games, and protective parents.

February 20, 2008

Susie H said:

I think part of the problem started with Physical Education no longer being "taught" in schools. Kids get used to inactivity with video games, parents driving them to and from school, no chores around the house, cheap fast food. Nothing is expected of kids anymore and that's what we're getting-nothing in return except more fat kids.

February 24, 2008

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